Free agency is one of the best ways an NFL team can engineer a stunning turnaround and go from bottom-feeder to perennial contender. If you need proof of that, look no further than the New England Patriots, who, after spending the most money in free agency last offseason, surged to the Super Bowl after winning just four games in 2024.<\/p>\n
In order to make those moves, however, an NFL team has to have an adequate amount of salary cap space. With the rising costs of player contracts and the exorbitant amount of money required to sign a quarterback to a second contract, some teams are in far worse shape to add talent with free agency officially open.<\/p>\n
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It doesn’t have to be that way, of course. A team can drastically alter its situation with a key release or trade, suddenly freeing up the necessary funds to make that one move that finally puts it over the edge.<\/p>\n
With free agency having officially kicked off, here’s the amount of cap space with which each team is working this offseason.<\/p>\n
When does NFL free agency officially start?<\/p>\n
NFL players can officially sign with their new teams as of March 11 at 4 p.m. ET, which marks the start of the new league year. Any trades that were agreed to during the offseason (but prior to that time) are not officially processed by the league until the new year begins.<\/p>\n
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What is the NFL salary cap?<\/p>\n
The NFL salary cap is a set dollar amount that NFL teams can not exceed with their player contracts. It seeks to create a more even playing field among all NFL teams, as no one team can vastly outspend another. That’s not the case in a sport like baseball<\/a>, where the Los Angeles Dodgers can run a $318 million payroll and the Miami Marlins can come in at $76.6 million.<\/p>\n For 2026, the NFL set the salary cap at $301.2 million. All 32 teams were require to be under that number by the start of the new league year \u2014 March 11 at 4 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n NFL salary cap tracker<\/p>\n With all that out of the way, here is an estimate of each team\u2019s available salary cap space as of Wednesday, March 11 at 4:45 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n (All f<\/a>igures via OvertheCap.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n Team<\/p>\n Cap space<\/p>\n Active cap spending<\/p>\n Dead money<\/p>\n Commanders<\/p>\n $76,439,397<\/p>\n $230,685,404<\/p>\n $20,692,736<\/p>\n Chargers<\/p>\n $63,587,408<\/p>\n $233,954,700<\/p>\n $5,548,177<\/p>\n Ravens<\/p>\n $58,517,187<\/p>\n $236,061,158<\/p>\n $16,002,715<\/p>\n Colts<\/p>\n $54,102,289<\/p>\n $239,150,497<\/p>\n $9,593,644<\/p>\n Titans<\/p>\n $51,733,960<\/p>\n $254,013,596<\/p>\n $17,069,272<\/p>\n Seahawks<\/p>\n $42,966,262<\/p>\n $268,955,021<\/p>\n $483,723<\/p>\n Cardinals<\/p>\n $41,678,185<\/p>\n $249,908,196<\/p>\n $23,268,104<\/p>\n Raiders<\/p>\n $37,925,609<\/p>\n $222,531,470<\/p>\n $52,012,266<\/p>\n Jets<\/p>\n $37,124,446<\/p>\n $194,263,716<\/p>\n $91,246,438<\/p>\n Lions<\/p>\n $35,069,788<\/p>\n $259,329,163<\/p>\n $26,468,791<\/p>\n 49ers<\/p>\n $34,329,476<\/p>\n $259,979,123<\/p>\n $36,247,741<\/p>\n Patriots<\/p>\n $31,569,730<\/p>\n $295,972,164<\/p>\n $22,990,382<\/p>\n Panthers<\/p>\n $30,465,804<\/p>\n $264,409,823<\/p>\n $16,442,844<\/p>\n Packers<\/p>\n $29,599,808<\/p>\n $240,596,109<\/p>\n $39,199,303<\/p>\n Bengals<\/p>\n $24,182,216<\/p>\n $274,535,672<\/p>\n $11,248,222<\/p>\n Texans<\/p>\n $24,099,399<\/p>\n $219,240,256<\/p>\n $65,366,709<\/p>\n Chiefs<\/p>\n $21,731,968<\/p>\n $269,097,271<\/p>\n $9,773,977<\/p>\n Falcons<\/p>\n $20,597,624<\/p>\n $267,291,339<\/p>\n $16,285,354<\/p>\n Rams<\/p>\n $20,481,323<\/p>\n $278,775,458<\/p>\n $10,937,110<\/p>\n Broncos<\/p>\n $18,623,570<\/p>\n $283,360,355<\/p>\n $1,218,922<\/p>\n Saints<\/p>\n $16,102,740<\/p>\n $186,438,600<\/p>\n $113,971,682<\/p>\n Buccaneers<\/p>\n $15,699,177<\/p>\n $284,528,406<\/p>\n $13,329,591<\/p>\n Steelers<\/p>\n $13,877,382<\/p>\n $290,558,286<\/p>\n $12,221,838<\/p>\n Giants<\/p>\n $10,892,168<\/p>\n $279,897,610<\/p>\n $7,985,138<\/p>\n Eagles<\/p>\n $10,515,188<\/p>\n $229,858,356<\/p>\n $72,525,492<\/p>\n Browns<\/p>\n $8,649,433<\/p>\n $276,179,765<\/p>\n $41,224,848<\/p>\n Bears<\/p>\n $6,806,499<\/p>\n $282,777,516<\/p>\n $19,355,493<\/p>\n Dolphins<\/p>\n $6,336,786<\/p>\n $211,599,574<\/p>\n $89,603,387<\/p>\n Vikings<\/p>\n -$1,037,283<\/p>\n $304,408,782<\/p>\n $8,975,574<\/p>\n Jaguars<\/p>\n -$1,108,711<\/p>\n $255,529,903<\/p>\n $53,340,647<\/p>\n Bills<\/p>\n -$2,094,700<\/p>\n $255,648,269<\/p>\n $46,378,219<\/p>\n Cowboys<\/p>\n -$3,996,182<\/p>\n $304,050,092<\/p>\n $25,994,177<\/p>\n